Saturday, July 01, 2017

Things Are Hoppin'

So, we arrived in The Villages a little before noon on Friday, June 30. A short time before that, we learned that the house we were selling in Louisville closed and proceeds had been wired to our account. Whew! So glad that's done. I was stressing about that whole thing, and I just wanted it to be done. Other than the health of my parents and their deaths, I haven't dealt with much stress the last twelve years, but going through the process of liquidating my parents' stuff and selling the house is certainly something I'm glad is over.

After having a little lunch with Linda's Mom & Adam, we met with Brian Arango, one of the top realtors in The Villages. He had sent us properties to review last week, and some of the ones we were interested in already had contracts by the time we arrived here.

But he had an idea of what we were looking for, and I had sent two emails with about ten questions each. He knew we were looking for an investment property, and since he owns a couple of rental houses himself, we knew he would be very knowledgeable on location and costs of ownership.

He showed us five houses, four of which were "turn key" meaning they were being sold furnished. We stayed in our price range and learned that going up in price would not increase the rent we could get by enough to justify the extra costs.

By the end of the day, Linda & I both liked a 2-bedroom, 2-bath villa that was very centrally located on a quiet street with easy access to several golf courses, recreation centers, and retail areas. And the price was right.

We made plans to look at unfurnished houses on Saturday, but we found that similar houses in the desirable area were priced at or above the one we liked. Later Friday evening, we decided to make an offer. So we scheduled a meeting with Brian for Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.

This morning, July 1, we met with Brian and wrote up an offer on the villa. Brian was about to scan and email the offer when he ran into the other agent in the hallway. So he handed her the offer, and within about fifteen minutes, before we had finished going over information about The Villages, we had an acceptance.

Brian said he's been doing this eight and a half years and he's never had an offer and acceptance that fast. We're going to close in less than two weeks if inspections go well. It's a wonderful investment property and had been rented on an annual lease. The tenant just moved out and the owners, who have another house here in The Villages, were just looking to cash out.

And get this, the sellers said they just bought a fifth wheel and wanted the funds to pay it off. RVing makes another positive contribution in our lives. So, they were excited about the cash offer and the quick closing, and we got one heck of a deal on this nice little house.

Here are some other photos.

Walkway

Lanai

Living Area

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Appliances, including washer/dryer stay as does all the furnishings including plates, silverware, pots & pans, etc. We'll replace the carpet in the bedrooms, replace some furniture and accessories, and Linda will have fun sprucing up the decorating, but we won't have to spend a whole lot.

We'll have it ready to rent very quickly and will post new photos when that is done. We'll turn it over to a property management company, and even with their fee, we should break even on annual expenses with just the rental for January, February, and March. Any other rentals during the year is gravy. Or we can rent it annually for an averaged-out monthly rate and have some nice supplemental income that way.

Make no mistake - this is an investment that just happens to have the added benefit of being a "safety net" should we have to get off the road. We're looking at another ten years or so of RVing, but Linda likes having this option already in place if we need it or if our circumstances or desires change.

With our plans for this investment property, we were kicking around whether or not we should get a golf cart for the rental house in this golf-cart friendly community. Well, when we arrived here, we learned that Linda's Mom & Adam were selling one of their two golf carts. I drove it around for about an hour and a half today, and we are now owners of a golf cart the use of which will be included with rental of the house. That fell into place nicely.

Now in the middle of all of that, Linda's new business, Tea It Up With Linda, is off to a good start. She already has a new team member and is talking to others.

She gave all the Steeped Tea spices to Adam for Father's Day, and he used the Smoky Tea-Aki Rub on some salmon last night - absolutely delicious. She's also been enjoying sampling some of the teas with her Mom.

And tomorrow, July 2, is the beginning of her Pop-Up Tea Shop Grand Opening. I'm not really sure yet what that means, but it runs through July 5.

If that isn't enough, we've been working on scheduling our RV show appearances for 2018, thinking about Boondocking Rally and Reunion Rally dates for 2018, and we're about to close registration for the 2017 Fall Rally and start a "waiting list".

We had planned for this to be a simple summer of staying put and "nesting" a bit before heading west this Fall. We had no idea that it would turn into a whirlwind of activity and that opportunity would knock in unexpected ways partially as a result of a very disheartening event with our rig. But it is the freedom and flexibility of this wonderful lifestyle that allow us to open the doors, consider the possibilities, choose a path, and hope it ends up in the land of positive results.

Congratulations!! I know closing chapters on your parents must be difficult, but also removes stress as well.

Speaking of which, I was wondering if you could post the link to the post about the Rx dispenser thing you used for your Dad. My Mom is at her own crossroads of independence and we are working out additional support systems for her. I tried to search but was unable to find the post that mentions it. Would you mind directing me?

Great news on the house, and belatedly, the 5th wheel. The line that caught my eye in your post was "heading west this Fall". How far west would that west be? Really, really west, or just left of where you are now?

Really, really west. :) We'll be in Arizona by January, maybe sooner, we have a Rally in Pahrump, Nevada in April 2018, and our intent is to spend the summer of 2018 in Washington state. Not sure about all the time in between yet. :)